Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance

Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term memory system separate from long-term knowledge. Using natural language corpora, we show experimentally and computationally that performance on three widely used measures of short-term memory (digit span, nonword repetition, and sentence recall) can be predicted from simple associative learning operating on the linguistic environment to which a typical child may have been exposed. The findings support the broad view that short-term verbal memory performance reflects the application of long-term language knowledge to the experimental setting.     

Implicit memory for novel conceptual associations in amnesia

In two experiments, we evaluated the status of implicit memory for novel associations in amnesia. Experiment 1 assessed priming in a category exemplar generation task in which contextual information associated with a target could increase the likelihood of target generation. Control participants, but not amnesic patients, showed associative priming. Amnesics’ impairment was not due to the use of explicit memory by control subjects but reflected a genuine impairment in implicit memory for novel conceptual associations. Experiment 2 assessed priming in a relatedness judgment task, in which associative priming was manifest as longer latencies for old than for recombined pairs of unrelated words. Amnesic patients showed intact associative priming in this task. We discuss differences in the status of implicit memory for novel conceptual associations in amnesia, with reference to the nature of the representation that supports priming in the two tasks and the type of processing that is required at test.     

APPLICANT REACTIONS TO PRE-EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION BLANKS: A LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE

The current research investigated applicant reactions derived from common application blanks. Previous work has found applications to be riddled with legally inadvisable items, but limited research has attempted to understand how such items might affect applicants. By using organizational justice theory as a framework, two studies examined applicant reactions from two application blanks: a legally advisable application and a legally problematic application. It was found that applicants completing the legally problematic application had lower perceptions of justice and expressed higher litigation intentions compared to those completing the legally advisable application, especially for those that were rejected without an explanation.

The Value of Social Validation in Single-Case Methods in Sport and Exercise Psychology

Social validation is used to determine satisfaction with an intervention and has been utilized in many single-case studies within sport and exercise psychology research and consultancy. This article reviews current social validation procedures and makes recommendations of how a more thorough consideration of the technique could add greater value to the understanding of single-case protocols within research and applied practice. Recommendations include using semi-structured interviews for data collection, using content analysis to analyze these data, reporting social validation results in a thorough manner, collecting social validation information from significant others, and collecting social validation data as frequently as possible.     

“Not in My Back Yard”: The Situational and Personality Determinants of Oppositional Behavior1

The present study considered situational and dispositional factors underlying behavioral opposition characteristic of a “not‐in‐my‐back‐yard” (NIMBY) response to a change having adverse personal consequences. Students considered the proposition of comprehensive exams required for graduation taking effect in the near or distant future (high and low vested interest, respectively). Although both groups had similarly negative attitudes toward the idea, the high vested interest group perceived greater personal consequence and expressed greater intention to oppose the plan. From a situational‐dispositional interactionist perspective, it was the impact of the situation (perceived stake), rather than personality traits presumed to underlie a NIMBY response, that proved to be the primary determinant of oppositional behavior.     

Authoritarianism and Political Impoverishment: Deficits in Knowledge and Civic Disinterest

Past research shows that authoritarian individuals hold strong opinions about a variety of political and social issues, such as race relations and military conflict. What has not been established, though, is the amount of general political knowledge that authoritarians possess. In this study, three groups of college students were administered Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; most of them also received items assessing general political knowledge and specific knowledge about the 2000 presidential election, as well as items assessing interest in politics. Relative to students with low RWA scores, those with high scores possessed less political knowledge; moreover, they expressed less interest in learning about politics. In general, authoritarianism was unrelated to how individuals got their political information or how credible they found their sources. The implication that authoritarians hold strong attitudinal beliefs with weak political knowledge is discussed.     

Success and Gender: Determining the Rate of Advancement for Intercollegiate Athletic Directors

Since the demise of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), female sport administrators have continued their struggle to reestablish their place as athletic directors. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of advancement (success ratio) of intercollegiate athletic directors, with a primary focus on gender. Athletic directors from 157 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) member institutions participated in the study. The preliminary results confirmed the expected findings that hegemonic masculinity was entrenched within intercollegiate athletics. The success ratio of male athletic directors differed from that of female athletic directors, and the difference was significant (p ≤ .05). The success ratio for men was higher than the ratio for women. Further analyses, however, showed that female athletic directors had higher success ratios than their male peers at lower level institutions. Although parity in numbers has not yet been achieved across the NCAA, the glass ceiling at Division I institutions may begin to crack as more women achieve success at the lower level institutions.